The AI-powered coding assistant scene has exploded.
Augment emerged out of stealth last month with $252M in funding at a $977M valuation.
Other startups in the space that have raised massive rounds include:
- Cognition AI ($196M in total funding)
- Magic ($145M)
- Poolside ($125M)
- Codeium ($90M)
- Tabnine ($55M)
That’s alongside products from big tech like Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot, Meta’s open-source Code Llama, and Amazon’s CodeWhisperer.
Companies like Cognition and Magic are aiming for not only assistants that can suggest code snippets, but also true coding agents that can replace the work of human engineers.
Not: Big insurtech acquisitions
Prudential recently announced it will shut down Assurance IQ.
The insurer acquired the insurtech startup for a total consideration of $3.5B in 2019 — but the company subsequently missed financial targets and the deal drew regulatory scrutiny.
Prudential wrote the investment down by about half in 2022.
Acknowledging its recent decision to exit Assurance, Prudential noted it wants to invest directly in its core businesses and capabilities, as reflected by CBI Earnings Insights.
And the co noted that it will return to a “focus on acquisitions of more established businesses” to achieve this moving forward.
Looks like one less acquirer of startups out there now.
